Institutions and Laws

HRTS 2800: Human Rights in the United States
MW 4:40-5:55pm
Asmita Aasavari

Sociological analyses of human rights issues in the United States, including economic, racial, and gender justice; prisoners' rights and capital punishment; the role of the United States in international human rights agreements and treaties; and struggles on behalf of human rights. Formerly offered as HRTS/SOCI 3831.

HRTS 3212: Comparative Perspectives on Human Rights
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
Shareen Hartel

Cultural difference and human rights in areas if legal equality, women’s rights, political violence, criminal justice, religious pluralism, global security, and race relations.

HRTS 3230: Propaganda, Disinformation, and Hate Speech
T 2:00-4:30pm
Richard Wilson

Draws on current social science research to understand the effects of false information and hate speech on our politics and culture and to evaluate various private and public initiatives to regulate speech. CA 2.

HRTS 3428: The Politics of Torture
TTH 12:30-1:45pm
David L. Richards

Examination of the usage of torture by state and non-state actors. Questions include, "Why is torture perpetrated?" "What domestic and international legal frameworks and issues related to the use of torture?" "How effective are existing legal prohibitions and remedies?" "Who tortures?" and "How does torture affect transitional justice?"

History, Philosophy, & Theory

HRTS 3201: The History of Human Rights
TTH 3:30-4:45pm
Sara Silverstein

Case studies in the emergence and evolution of human rights as experience and  concept.

HRTS 3631W: Literature, Culture, and Humanitarianism
MW 10:10-11:00am Hybrid
Eleni Coundouriotis

Relationships between literature and culture and humanitarian movements, from the eighteenth century to the present.

Applications & Methods

HRTS 2150: Devising Theatre for Social Justice I
F 10:00am-12:30pm
Asif Majid

Making theatre without a pre written script to address a social justice topic of interest, moving from initial stimulus to concluding performance. Students will center a contemporary issue of social justice while developing theatre making skills, emphasizing collaborative co creation, small group work, and the development and presentation of a range of performance forms. CA 1.

** This course is open to all students from all majors. No theatre experience is required or expected; all are welcome. Students from beyond Dramatic Arts are particularly encouraged to register. Feel free to contact the course professor with any questions (Asif Majid: asif.majid@uconn.edu). **

HRTS 3252: Corporate Social Responsibility and Accountability
M 5:00-7:45pm
Rachel Chambers

This course provides an introduction to the human rights implications of multinational enterprises’ global operations. Students learn how to assess corporate social impact through a human rights framework, consider the challenges of regulating the human rights impacts of global business, analyze international policy responses, and evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches to enforcing human rights standards for corporations.

HRTS 3257: Assessment for Human Rights and Sustainability
T 6:00-8:30pm
Shareen Hertel & Davis Chacon Hurtado

Foundational concepts of human rights and environmental impacts pertaining to global supply chains. Regulations and voluntary standards in engineering-intensive sectors, including infrastructure, biofuels, electronics. Case study analysis of corporate assessment practices for labor rights protection and environmental impacts.

HRTS 3401: Applied Research in Human Rights
MWF 10:10-11:00am Hybrid
Michael Rubin

Development of research skills through practical experience in the field of human rights. In the classroom, students learn fundamentals of research design, data collection and analysis. Outside class, students develop these skills by directly contributing to active research projects centered on human rights issues led by faculty members.

HRTS 3540: Topics in Human Rights Practice - Gender and Environmental Justice
TTH 9:30-10:45am Online Synchronous
Carmel Christy Kattithara Joseph

The course aims to introduce debates on the environment as a crucial part of social justice, specifically with reference to gender movements.

HRTS 3640: Human Rights Archives I: Documenting and Curating Community Memory
F 12:20-3:20pm
Catherine Masud

The use of human rights archival materials in documentary storytelling. Students will learn methods and best practices of collecting and managing digital visual and audio-visual archival assets. This is the first part of a two-semester unit addressing a common theme. Part I is not a prerequisite for Part II.

Electives 

HRTS 2203:  The Holocaust in Print, Theater, and Film
T 3:30-6:30pm
Grae Sibelman

Representations of the Holocaust, including first-hand accounts and documentaries; artistic choices in genre, structure, imagery, point of view, and the limits of representation. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

HRTS 2830: Class, Power, and Inequality
TTH 9:30-10:45am
Bhoomi Thakore

Inequality and its consequences in contemporary societies. Formerly offered as HRTS/SOCI 3421.

HRTS 3028W: Indigenous Rights and Aboriginal Australia
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
Francoise Dussart

An introduction to the study and understanding of Aboriginal ways of life and thought. An exploration of the complexity of contemporary indigenous social orders and land rights issues. CA 4-INT.

HRTS 3298.001: Human Rights, Art, and Reparations
MW 12:30-1:45pm Hybrid
Michael Orwicz

What role do the visual arts play in effectuating reparations for victims of human rights violations? Through case studies, this course explores the histories, practices, and controversies surrounding the use of visual art as reparation in the human rights systems of Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

HRTS 3298.002: Variable Topics – Sports and Human Rights
TTH 11:00am-12:15pm
John Dunn

Why are athletes so often at the forefront of struggles for rights and justice? Why are sporting events so often sites where people try to claim their human rights, where others have their rights violated, and where regimes try to cover over their human rights records? If “it’s just a game” then why are the stakes so high? This course examines the intersections between human rights activism and violations and the world of sports in the past and the present. Potential topics include mega-sporting events, sports-washing, business and labor practices, athlete activism, performance enhancing drug use, participation of transgender athletes, youth sporting, and sports and development.

HRTS 3563: African American History to 1865
MWF 1:25-2:15pm
Cooper Owens

History of African-American people to 1865, from their West African roots, to their presence in colonial America, through enslavement and emancipation. Adaptation and resistance to their conditions in North America. Contributions by black people to the development of the United States.

HRTS 3575: Human Rights, Digital Media, Visual Culture
MW 3:30-4:45pm Hybrid
Michael Orwicz

The problematics of digital media and visual representation in conceptualizing, documenting, and visualizing human rights and humanitarian issues. CA 1.

HRTS 3580: Image as Witness: Testimony, Witness, Confession
MW 2:00-3:15pm Hybrid
Jose Falconi

Explores the role of visual culture in bearing witness to human rights abuses.

Capstone 

HRTS 4291: Service Learning Seminar/Internship
F 10:10-11:00am Online Synchronous
Alyssa Webb 

Combination of supervised fieldwork within the larger human rights community with regular classroom meetings for reflection/analysis on the application of human rights concepts and practices. Students must secure a satisfactory intern position before the end of the second week of the semester of enrollment in this course; students should be in consultation with the instructor several months in advance. 

HRTS 4996W: Senior Thesis
By arrangement

Research and writing of major project exploring a topic with human rights, with close supervision and production of multiple written drafts. 

Core Classes 

HRTS 5301: Contemporary Debates in Human Rights
M 12:20-3:20pm
Elizabeth Holzer

Key Debates in Human Rights will introduce students to the main modern debates in the academic field of human rights. It is interdisciplinary in scope, including recent intellectual contributions from philosophy, law, political science, sociology, anthropology, literature and history. It will address a number of central issues and questions, including the normative philosophical foundations of human rights, whether human rights are universal or relative, whether human rights can be held collectively, and the justifications for women's rights and cultural rights.

EDCI 5847: Human Rights and Social Justice in Education
T 5:00-7:45pm
Sandra Sirota

Introduction to human rights and social justice, two overlapping, but non-identical frameworks for understanding and acting through educational institutions, practices, and objectives.

Electives 

HRTS 5327: Propaganda, Disinformation, and Hate Speech
T 2:00-4:30pm
Richard Wilson

Draws on current social science research and legal scholarship to understand the effects of disinformation and hate speech on individual moral decision-making, as well as on wider politics and culture. Evaluates various private and public initiatives to regulate speech.

HRTS 5351.001: Topics in Human Rights Practice - Human Rights Archives I
F 12:20-3:20pm
Catherine Masud
The use of human rights archival materials in documentary storytelling. Students will learn methods and best practices of collecting and managing digital visual and audio-visual archival assets. This is the first part of a two-semester unit addressing a common theme. Part I is not a prerequisite for Part II.

HRTS 5351.002: Topics in Human Rights Practice - Gender and Environmental Justice
TTH 9:30-10:45am
Carmel Christy Kattithara Joseph
The course aims to introduce debates on the environment as a crucial part of social justice, specifically with reference to gender movements.

HRTS 5401: Methods in Human Rights Research and Practice
TH 2:30-5:00pm
David L. Richards

An introduction to professional modes of human rights research and practice from multi-disciplinary perspectives. An exploration of roles of data collection, creation, and analysis in policy making and advocacy using principles of human rights evaluation. Examination of the relationship between human rights research and practical interventions affecting human rights outcomes.

HRTS 5450: Contemporary Issues in Genocide Studies - Deeply Divided Societies
T 1:30-4:00pm
James Waller

A deeply divided society is one where violence, or even the threat of violence in times of peace, keeps a society divided along social identity lines. These deep social cleavages leave societies at increased risk for large-scale violent conflict, including genocide or other atrocity crimes. This course analyzes risk assessment for genocide and mass atrocity through systematic analyses of case studies of deeply divided societies. These case studies will include, but are not limited to, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the United States. Particular attention will be paid to the enduring impact of these deep identity divisions and the ways in which truth, memory, and justice continue to be pursued in each case.

LAW 7357: Insurance and Discrimination
Th 6:30-8:30pm
Yass

The insurance underwriting and pricing process, of necessity, involves making choices among applicants on an individual and group basis. At its core, this process involves discrimination. This class explores such discrimination and considers what are the allowable bounds. Our study will include, how risk is evaluated, what the transfer of risk entails as well as the role of insurers in current society and its historic role in the United States economy. Specific cases of race, geography, age, gender, health and disability will be evaluated, along with changes over time in insurers' treatment of these factors and what has prompted these changes.

LAW 7609: Asylum & Human Rights Clinic
T 2-5:00pm
Bauer

Students in this clinical program represent persons seeking political asylum in the United States. Asylum is available to individuals who can establish a well founded fear of persecution if returned to their home countries. Students exercise primary responsibility for all aspects of the asylum process, including proceedings in the Asylum Office of the Department of Homeland Security and hearings before Immigration judges. Students interview and counsel clients and investigate the facts supporting their claims, research human rights conditions in the client's home country, prepare supporting documentation and a brief in support of the asylum application, and represent clients at hearings and in related matters. Classroom seminars focus on the substantive and procedural law, both international and domestic, relevant to asylum claims, the lawyering skills that students will utilize in their cases, and the discussion of legal. tactical and ethical issues that arise in the context of the casework. This is a one semester clinic, but students have the opportunity to continue their work in subsequent semesters through Advanced Clinic Fieldwork. 9 credits (4 credits seminar, 5 credits fieldwork).

LAW 7653: European Human Rights
T 9:30am-12:30pm
Janis

Is an introduction to the most advanced system of international law devoted to the protection of human rights. The course explores (1) the European Court and Commission of Human Rights and contrasts the European system to other forms of international legal process, and (2) the rights protected by the European Human Rights Law, e.g., protection against torture, respect for private and family life, freedom of expression, fair trial, and contrasts them to the rights protected in the United States and Canada.

LAW 7655: Employment Discrimination Law
MW 3:30-5:00pm
Siegelman

This course focuses on a rapidly growing aspect of labor and employment law. The course introduces the concept of discrimination by examining Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, The Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Section 1981 of the Civil War Reconstruction Statutes. After exploring the process of proving and defending against individual and systematic discrimination claims, the course considers special problems in discrimination law that may include pregnancy, sexual harassment, sexual preference, religious discrimination and retaliation. The course also examines the alternative approach to discrimination adopted in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Fundamentals of statutory construction, litigation strategy, and statistical methods of proof are emphasized. Numerous unresolved issues are addressed throughout the course. Procedures and remedies may also be considered.

LAW 7759: The Nuremberg Trials
W 10:30am-12:30pm
Anderson & Birmingham

This seminar is a study of war crime trials held in the aftermath of World War II, in their legal and social contexts: from the law of the late Weimer Republic (c. 1928-1933) and the Third Reich (1933-1945); through the Nuremberg Trials (1945-1949) and that of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem in 1961; to related domestic litigation under the Alien Tort Claims Act and otherwise.

SWEL 5318: Child Adolescent Trauma & Mental Health
M 4-6:30pm
Wilcox

Incorporates the new National Child Traumatic Stress Network core curriculum on child trauma (CCCT). The course conveys the crucial evidence-based concepts, components, and skills designed by the NCTSN to strengthen competency in assessment, referral, and treatment.

SWEL 5348: International Social Work Global Issues
Select Saturdays 10am-3:00pm
Thomas

Cross-national, comparative approach to selected topics in international social problems and social welfare. Consideration of the problem of developing nations and modernization and urbanization as worldwide processes; the role of international organizations; the role of social work in international issues; and the implications of cross-national study for practice.

Hybrid course: 10:00am-3:00pm: In-person on 9/7, 9/21, 10/5, 10/19, 11/2, and 11/16. Additional asynchronous content for students to complete outside of the in-person times.

Core Classes 

LAW 7878: International Human Rights
TTH 9:00am-10:30am
Molly Land 

This course analyzes the essence of human rights in comparison with other rights of citizens. Human rights shall be considered from the viewpoint of international regulation (the United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights), regulation in different parts of the world and in different countries (United States of America, western European countries, Russia and eastern European countries). Concrete cases of human rights violations and concrete means of protecting human rights will be discussed. 

LAW 7883: Human Rights and Post Conflict Justice
T 2:00-5:00pm
Richard Wilson 

How do countries cope with periods of massive human rights abuses committed in the past? What role should the international community play in promoting accountability and reconciliation for such abuses? What is the role of courts, either domestic or international, in such processes? Should countries pass amnesty laws and pardons for human rights offenders to facilitate the consolidation of democracy and should these laws be binding on international courts?  This seminar will explore a range of approaches that countries have used, including truth commissions and criminal trials. The seminar will focus on a number of case studies, including South Africa, Guatemala, Rwanda and the Balkans, as well as the impact of international lawsuits such as the Pinochet extradition proceedings between Britain and Spain. We will look at the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court and examine the issues raised by a court with its jurisdiction.  Drawing on these examples, students will compare the advantages and disadvantages of international and domestic solutions in each context.  Students will be required to write a short book review, a 6-8 page midterm paper and a final paper of 15-20 pages. 

SOCI 5515: Sociology of Immigration
Jacobs
Th 3:30-6:30pm  

Theoretical and empirical work on immigration and ethnicity including forms of  assimilation, ethnicity and transnationalism; challenges and opportunities for incorporation, and struggles over political, social, economic human rights.  The course focuses on the US with selected cases from Europe and Asia. 

SWEL 5385: Human Rights and Social Work
TH 4:00pm-6:30pm
Online Synchronous
Craig Mortley

Theoretical, conceptual, and practical foundation for social workers to engage in a human rights-based approach to social work. Students will gain an understanding of the international human rights system, social work's contribution to achieving human rights, and how international human rights principles can be applied to social work practice. We will use a number of cases from varied countries, including the United States, to examine how social workers can both advocate for and respect human rights in their work.

Electives 

ALDS/GERM/CLCS 5324: Teaching for Intercultural Citizenship and Human Rights I
Manuela Wagner
T 3:30-6:15pm  

Explores the role of intercultural competence and human rights education from a variety of perspectives, including applied linguistics, education, psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and pragmatics. Through readings, online and face-to-face discussions, role-plays, scenarios, and presentations students will critically reflect on models of intercultural competence and human rights education and their relation to (student) outcomes; examine the role of social justice and human rights within the teaching of intercultural competence; and integrate and assess intercultural competence in teaching. Taught in English. 

CLCS 5350: Theater and Human Rights
Sebastian Wogenstein
T 11-1:30pm 

Exploration of theater and related performing arts as forms of artistic expression and public debate. Analysis of specific characteristics of modern and contemporary theater and exploration of theater's engagement with human rights discourse and interventions in the public sphere. Theoretical texts and recordings of performances will inform class discussions. 

HRTS 5351.003: Topics in Human Rights Practice - Revolution Meets Resolution: A Peacemaker’s Guide to Justice
W 12:20-3:20pm
Marie Pace

The relationship between the fields of human rights and peace/conflict studies has historically been marked by tension rooted in differing priorities and approaches. Human rights scholars and practitioners often focus on accountability, justice, and the strict application of international legal standards, sometimes advocating for punitive measures against violators. Meanwhile, the peace & conflict community tends to prioritize mending social fragmentation through such methods as dialogue, negotiation, and reconciliation, aiming to find common ground and foster relationships between conflicting parties. This divergence has led to friction, with human rights advocates sometimes viewing peacemakers as compromising justice for stability, while peacemakers may see strict human rights approaches as potentially prolonging conflicts by hardening positions and undermining social cohesion.

This course will challenge the notion that these two approaches to social transformation—revolution vs. resolution—must be at odds, instead positing that sustainable peace and justice are deeply interconnected. We will explore how the principles and practices of peacemaking can enrich and enhance the field of human rights. At this critical historic moment, where extreme polarization has arguably become a defining feature of American society, and with violent conflict on the rise globally, this course aims to equip human rights students with essential insights, frameworks, and tools from peace studies. The goal is to empower students to engage the issues they care about in ways that can potentially heal social divisions and foster both justice and sustainable peace.

LAW 7360: Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession
Johnson & Menon
W 6:30-9:15pm 

This course explores issues related to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, including history, policies, and laws connected to these areas.  The course will consider the reasons why diversity and inclusion are a problem within the legal profession, identify ongoing issues and systemic challenges, and survey efforts made to increase diversity and inclusion in various aspects of the legal profession.  Topics will include disparities and discrimination related to race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, age, and socioeconomic status.  The course will include guest speakers from different areas of legal practice. Students will be evaluated based on a course paper, short response papers, and active participation. 

LAW 7679: International Law
Mark Janis
T 6:30-9:15pm 

This course is a study of the rules and adjudication of international law. Topics include customary international law, treaties, general principles of law and equity, the adjudication of international law by international courts, domestic courts, and international arbitration.
 

LAW 7814: Refugee Law
Jon Bauer
Th 2:00-5:00pm 

Millions of people worldwide are forced to flee their homes as a result of persecution, war, or other factors.  This course will focus on legal responses to the problem of refugees, on both the international level and in United States law.  The course will examine the development of international norms concerning the protection of refugees under the U.N Refugee Convention and Protocol and the Convention Against Torture, and consider in depth the laws and institutions that address claims for asylum and related forms of protection in the United States.  The course will examine issues such as the legal standards for qualifying for refugee status, the challenges of assessing applicants' credibility, and the complex and controversial issues raised by the increasing numbers of refugees fleeing from gender-based harms (such as domestic violence, forced marriage, and female genital cutting) and gang violence. 

LAW 7872: Comparative Law and Rights
Angel Oquendo
W 4:00-6:00pm  

From a human-rights and international-litigation perspective, the course will deal with constitutional law as well as specific areas of private law such as civil law, civil procedure, and business law. It will first introduce the civil-law tradition, along with the legal history of Continental Europe and Latin America. With a focus on the latter region but constant references to the former, the discussion will then shift to constitutional law: to the notion of constitutionalism, basic principles, the vindication of rights, and second- and third-generation entitlements. Thereafter, it will likewise zero in on civil law¿in particular, civil codes, interpretation, codified sexism, and civil remedies as well as on civil procedure specifically, the conception of procedure, procedural guaranties, and collective actions. The class will close with an analogous exploration of corporate law. Throughout, it will contrast legal institutions from the United States. 

PUBH 5460: Health and Human Rights
T 5:30pm-8:30pm
Audrey Chapman

Explores the many ways in which human health and well-being are related to human rights. Human rights are a field of international law which includes major treaties, treaty bodies, and adjudicatory mechanisms. This course will review the ways in which human rights instruments and jurisprudence have addressed health and issues related to health. Students will also study a wide range of substantive public health issues that have a human rights dimension, and consider the ways that human rights are used as advocacy tools to improve the structural environment that shapes the public's health.

SOCI 5515: Sociology of Immigration
Jacobs
Th 3:30-6:30pm  

Theoretical and empirical work on immigration and ethnicity including forms of  assimilation, ethnicity and transnationalism; challenges and opportunities for incorporation, and struggles over political, social, economic human rights.  The course focuses on the US with selected cases from Europe and Asia. 

SWEL 5318: Child Adolescent Trauma & Mental Health
Patricia Wilcox
Sa 9:00am-12:00pm 

Incorporates the new National Child Traumatic Stress Network core curriculum on child trauma (CCCT). The course conveys the crucial evidence-based concepts, components, and skills designed by the NCTSN to strengthen competency in assessment, referral, and treatment. 

SWEL 5345: International Development
Rebecca Thomas
Sa 10:00-4:00pm 

International relief, reconstruction and development -- theories and practice strategies to attack poverty and improve human well-being. Among the topics covered will be: building local capacity, developing local partnerships, use of appropriate technology to create sustainability, multi-sectoral work, cultural relevance, ensuring gender sensitive programming, understanding and working with local and national structures, funding streams, and international partnerships. Elective course for Substantive Area: Focused Area of Study on International Social Work.  

Class to meet in-person, 10:00am-4:00pm on the following dates: 1/25/25, 2/8/25, 2/22/25, 3/8/25, and 4/12/25. Additional remote asynchronous content to be completed outside of in-person class times.